Friday, January 27, 2012

I surely think not. I often get asked questions about parenting a teen. I guess because my circle of friends all have school agers or preschoolers. The thought of having a teen absolutely scares the crap out of them. I am no expert but I have made my fair share of mistakes and definetly learned alot in the process. I received a piece of advice from my {wise} aunt Diana when Ashley was probably 15. It was right at the beginning of the troubles we HAD. (HAD, thank God) Aunt Diana said "pick your battles" At first I was like what the hell everything is a battle. That was her point. Everything shouldn't be a battle. What shoes to wear was not as big of a deal as homework. What color to dye your hair is not that big of a deal as coming home at curfew. I have used this piece of advice alot especially lately with the twins. If Preston says he's done at dinner that's fine but he is warned that there will be no more food until breakfast. He will not starve so cramming food down his throat is only going to lead to a huge battle and eventually end up with him either losing story time or gong straight to bed. Lily has started to want to pick out her own clothes and put on her own shoes, WITHOUT socks! This drives me crazy but really in the grand scheme of things who cares if she doesn't have on socks and her shoes are on the wrong feet. At least she put them on herself and is pretty proud that she accomplished that.I am less controlling with the twins than I was with Ashley but there are still rules and consequences.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Our 2012 started out with lots of excitement. We headed home from the annual beach house trip on Monday. As we got home I started to clear out the car from the cups and trash that usually collects on road trips. As Aaron was unpacking the car he sees me messing with the garbage disposal for some reason it stopped right after I turned it on. He opened the cabinet under the sink and starts messing with it. As he does that I stick my hand in and all I hear is the roar of the garbage disposal. He accidentlly hit the button not knowing I was still messing with it. Thankfully I hit the button very quickly and had my dish gloves on. My ocd side would never touch food inside a garbage disposal blah! At first I thought my finger was broke..... it seriously hurt so bad. I took the glove off to asses the damage. All I saw was blood and I got really dizzy. I laid down in the middle of the stairs and really felt like I was going to pass out. My finger swelled quickly so we decided to go to the emergency room. After a few hours, xrays and some pain reliever the Dr said it wasn't broken but bruised and that it would be in pain for a few weeks.Today we just had a busy day making up for all the lazy days we've had the past few weeks. We have a long list of things that we need to get done this week since Aaron is off and the kids go back to school tomorrow. Today we started with getting my car worked on. We got the brakes changed, rear bearings replaced, all fluids flushed and a 100k mile tune up. We figure if we are going to keep it we might as well get these things done before it breaks. We also took Lily for her f/u to the allergy Dr. The Dr thinks she has eczema but started her on a new regimen of creams and we are to f/u in 2 weeks. If this new regimen doesn't work we will be referred to a dermatologist. Also today Ashley started drivers ed. In 4 short weeks she will have her driver's license. Look out Cypress there will be another teen driver on the road. Good thing she is nervous nelly when it comes to driving. Hopefully she will stay that way.Tomorrow we are going home decor shopping. We have lived in our house for almost 2 years and we have yet to decorate. Aaron or I have no idea what to do when it comes to decorating. We have decided to enlarge a few family pictures onto canvas and get those framed. We got curtains for the kids rooms and a few wall hangings. We have also decided to add on to our back yard. We got a few estimates back in October and have finally (after lots of research) decided on a company and the design. I can not wait to enjoy our new porch and outdoor kitchen this spring. Stay tuned for lots of before and after pics.

This year is going to be about simplifying and taking it easy. I am researching preschools closer to home, minimizing my volunteer time, and only taking orders for a few weeks at a time. I will completely shut down Lily Lou Designs for 3-4 months once the new baby is born. I have really enjoyed the last few weeks with everyone home. We have spent lots of family time together. I hope this year is filled with simple pleasures.

Ashley is a smart, funny, beautiful, free spirited and sweet 19 year old. She loves music and acting goofy. She wants to be a organic chef when she is done with school. She knows what she wants and doesn't let anyone stand in her way. Ashley moved to Austin in 2013 to fulfill her dream of going to Le Cordon Bleu culinary school. While in Austin Ashley slipped into the darker side of the city. It is with a heavy heart that I say Ashley passed away on April 6th, 2014.

Preston

Preston is such a boy who makes us laugh. He loves to jump, run, scream, climb but also loves to snuggle. I love seeing his little mind at work. Preston will be 8 on Halloween.

Lillian

Lily is the princess of the family. She has us all tricked into doing whatever she wants. She loves to play dress up and read her books. She always has a smile on her sweet face. Lily will be 8 on Halloween.

Carly

Our newest baby girl. We didn't find out the gender (since this is our last) we were completely shocked that she was a she. We just assumed boy. You know the way I was carrying, stupid myths! Anyway we are completely over the moon in love with our precious Carly. She is certainly our firecracker. Carly will be 3 in April.